Roasted Duck with Plum Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts, skin scored diagonally
• jasmine rice
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely diced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp orange blossom water
• sea salt
• 1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
• 2 plums, pitted and chopped
• chinese five-spice powder, for sprinkling
• 12 tsp chinese five-spice powder
• cooked baby leaf greens
• Crusty sourdough bread, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Tip the plums, ginger, brown sugar, five-spice, soy sauce and orange blossom water into a small saucepan over a low heat. The five-spice needs a moment in the warm liquid to bloom and lose its raw, dusty edge — give it 30 seconds of gentle bubbling before you cover the pan.
2. Cover and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the plums have collapsed into a glossy, jammy sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a sieve if you want it silky-smooth, or leave it rustic. Taste — most of the salt comes from the soy, but a final pinch ties the sweetness, spice and savouriness together.
3. Pat the duck breasts thoroughly dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crackling. Season the skin and flesh generously with sea salt, a good grind of black pepper and a light dusting of five-spice. Salt now, properly, or the meat tastes flat no matter what you do later.
4. Lay the duck skin-side down in a cold, dry, heavy stainless or cast-iron pan with plenty of space between them — don't crowd the pan or the fat steams instead of rendering. Set over a medium heat. Starting cold lets the fat render slowly into a golden slick instead of seizing the skin.
5. Cook undisturbed for around 10 minutes, until the skin is deep mahogany, crisp enough to tap, and a generous pool of fat has rendered out. Flip and sear the flesh side for 1 minute, just to colour.
6. Transfer the breasts to a rack over a roasting tray and roast at 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 for 10 minutes for blushing pink in the middle — pull at 54°C internal and the temperature will carry up to 58°C as it rests. Or air fry at 180°C for 8 minutes.
7. Rest the duck loosely tented under foil for 10 minutes — non-negotiable. Cut early and the juice runs onto the board instead of staying in the meat. Taste the plum sauce one more time and adjust the seasoning now, not at the table.
8. Slice the duck on the diagonal into thick pieces. Plate over jasmine rice with the wilted baby leaf greens alongside, spoon the warm plum sauce generously over the duck, finish with a squeeze of lemon to cut the richness of the rendered skin, and scatter the parsley across the top.